My Flashlight (Own Episode)
by HeartAngel1796
Summary: Story #3: Varian & Ophelia Alternative Series. The castle is holding a musical showcase and Ophelia is excited to sing a song she wrote. That is, until she sees that Varian has come to support her. Ophelia can't let Varian hear the song she wrote because it's a love song... about him.
1. Chapter 1

**Tangled: The Series**

**Alternative Series, Story #3: **_**My Flashlight**_

**Welcome to the beginning of the 3rd story of my 'Varian and Ophelia Alternative Series.' I'm so excited to finally be posting this one because this is the first of the 'Own Episodes' in the series; which means it's an original episode I'm plugging into the show because there wasn't enough episodes with Varian before 'Queen For a Day.' And like I said, I'm not gonna just plug them into existing episodes that have nothing to do with them. **

***See my profile for titles and summaries of 'own episodes' between this one and 'Queen For a Day.'**

**I think it's a good blend of working with the real episodes and being original. **

* * *

"… _I look up to the sky, and in the dark, I found a hope that I could fly. And I sing along, I sing along, and I sing along_…" Ophelia's sensual voice sounded from the castle's music room. The young kitchen maid sat at the piano, hitting the keys to match the melody of the song she was singing.

Like the Science Expo a few weeks ago, the capitol was hosting another grand event that promised many patrons and participants coming from all over the kingdom; A Musical Showcase.

There was a nice, big auditorium set-up in the ballroom, with a stage with curtains and so many chairs for an audience to sit in. The performers could sing or play whatever they wanted—be it a favorite song or a song they wrote themselves.

Another great thing was that, unlike the Expo, there were no stuck-up judges. Because there was no first-place ribbon or grand prize. That's why they were calling it a _showcase_, not a contest. The most rewarding thing for the performers to get from this show was cheers and applause from the audience.

Ophelia was one of the first people to sign up. She had a song she had been working on for some time now and this was the perfect time to perform it.

Because she wasn't the only one who lived in the castle that signed up to be in the show, the king had allowed every staff member who signed up to take a little time from their duties everyday so they could practice. Everyone had to share the castle's music room so they all had access to the instruments and the time they needed to practice.

They all picked a time for every day and took turns using the room. Ophelia's time off to practice—the music room all to herself—was in the afternoon, right after she mopped the main dining room floors.

With the show later that evening, it was her last rehearsal session.

Her song was complete, but she still wanted to perfect her piano playing while she sang so she would sound amazing at the actual show. Another great thing about the music room was the amazing acoustics.

"Sounding good there, Ophelia," a delighted voice from the door echoed through the room. Ophelia lifted her head and saw Rapunzel coming in. Accompanying her from behind were her boyfriend and best friend.

"Thanks. I still need to practice a bit more, but I think it's really coming together," Ophelia smiled back as she stood from the piano bench and walked around the piano to stand with them. "What about you, princess? Are you ready for the show?"

"So ready. And so excited!" Rapunzel exclaimed with joy.

"As am I," Eugene said confidently. "Lance and I are doing a duet, and it's going to bring the house down!" the former thief emphasized his excitement by adding jazz-hands at the end of his sentence.

Rapunzel giggled for his enthusiasm. Of course, she would have loved to do a duet with her boyfriend, but he and his best friend had made their own plans to perform together before she could ask him. And that was okay. She was still going to have a good time performing a solo.

"Well I hope you all have fun with that," Cassandra said, an amused smile on her face. Cass sort of liked to sing too—she certainly wasn't bad at it—but she wasn't into the whole performing thing. However, she was just as excited for the event as her friends because her father was giving her another shot at being a guard to help oversee the showcase. And this time, she wasn't slammed with too many other chores. She was going to finish, on time and on her own. So she was anticipating the night to come as well.

"Thanks. I'm so nervous but so exited at the same time," Ophelia said with an almost painfully big smile on her face. Quickly, she turned around and picked up her music sheets from the piano's music holder. "I worked so hard on this song. I can't wait to sing it for everyone tonight," she said, clutching the sheets tight to her chest.

A second later, there was a light knock on the music room door. Just as the four inside turned their attention to it, they saw Stan the guard poking his head in.

"Excuse me, your Highness," the older man said respectfully. "There's someone here to see you."

Rapunzel looked surprised for a moment—she wasn't expecting anyone specific—but she smiled. "Oh, well send them in, please," she urged.

Stan pulled himself away from the doorway before gesturing to someone in the hallway that they could go in.

That someone quickly burst into the room. "Hello everyone!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, Varian!" Rapunzel hollered before enveloping the fourteen-year-old boy in a big hug.

When the princess pulled away, Cass greeted him with a light punch to his shoulder. "Sup' boy genius," she said with a grin.

"Good to see you again kid," Eugene also greeted him with a friendly smile. "You didn't bring another invention, right?" he quickly asked, giving a nervous chuckle.

Varian just kept smiling. "It's good seeing you all too, Eugene," he said, not fazed by the question. "And no, I didn't bring any new inventions. I'm here for one reason and one reason only-" he said to the group before looking past them and walking up to the girl still holding the sheet music. "To support my best friend and watch her perform," he declared proudly, looking at her with much joy. "Wait, that was two reasons," he quickly realized.

Ophelia stayed silent when she saw Varian enter the room. But when he talked to her, she quickly snapped herself out of her haze and replied. "Varian… It's so great to see you," she said slowly, giving him a smile and then hugging him. "I'm so glad you're here. I didn't even know if you knew about the showcase," she said after they pulled away.

"Uh, Of course I did. There were posters for it all over Old Corona," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And if I know you, which I do, you were gonna be in that show for sure," he said confidently.

"Yup. You know me," she said, discreetly pulling her hands behind her back, along with her music sheets.

"But why didn't you tell me about the showcase in your letters?" he asked. Varian had been surprised not finding a single hint about the showcase in their letter exchanges. After he heard about it, he thought that was all his best friend would talk about in her letters. Just like when the Science Expo was coming and it was all he could write about.

Ophelia paused for a second, trying to think of how to explain that. "Oh, uh… you know, I was just busy. You know, writing my song, practicing my piano playing. You know my piano skills are a bit rusty," she said.

Varian nodded before putting his hands up in understanding. "I totally get it. When I'm super focused on a project, I skimp out a little on my letters to you too," he said, accepting the excuse. "But you know what? It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I'm here, and I can't wait to hear you perform," he grinned at her in anticipation. Ophelia smiled back, but hers was more nervous. But the young lad didn't notice. "So what song are you gonna sing?" he asked.

Ophelia's smile immediately dropped. "W-what song? Oh, it's uhh…" she stuttered, not sure what to say to him. She obviously couldn't tell him the truth. "Uhhh… a-a surprise. I want it to be a surprise. For everyone," she quickly blurted, her fist clutching her music sheets behind her tightening.

Again, Varian didn't see anything abnormal in her behavior. "Even me? Your best friend?" he asked in mock-hurt, clutching his chest.

Ophelia mentally signed before playing along. "Even you," she told him.

"Fine, but I won't like it," Varian replied with a pout. "I mean, I won't like _waiting_, not '_I won't like your song_.' I'd never say that," he scrambled to correct himself. He would hate to accidently offend her.

Ophelia just giggle. That was all Varian needed to know she knew he was just being a dork and he smiled back.

Rapunzel smiled as well, adoring the sweet interaction of the two close friends before her. "Well Varian, if you're staying for the showcase tonight, do you have a place to sleep afterwards?" the princess asked the younger boy. The showcase was meant to end late into the evening so it wouldn't be a good idea for him to try and make the long journey back home by himself at that hour.

"Oh, I was just gonna find an inn or something in town and then head home in the morning," he told her. His dad had given him some money for the trip. Plenty to pay for at least a night's stay at an inn in the capitol.

"Oh no you're not," Rapunzel replied, taking a step forward. No visiting friend of hers was paying for an inn while her home had rooms to spare. "You'll be staying here tonight."

Varian looked wide-eyed at the princess. "Here? As in, here in the castle? Overnight?" he exclaimed, not believing he had heard her right. "No, princess, I couldn't," he tried to respectfully decline her generosity. The castle probably had a lot of other visitors staying because of the showcase. He didn't want to trouble her with another.

"Yes, you can," she told him before turning to Stan, still guarding at the doorway. "Stan, can you please bring my good friend Varian here to one of our available guest rooms?"

This time Varian's eyes flew open so wide they looked ready to pop. He was okay with being given one of the spare bedrooms in the servant's quarters, but _a guest room?_—one of the bigger, fancier bedrooms for important visitors staying the night was far too much.

"Really, princess, you don't have to-" he uttered out, but the princess was persistent.

"Varian, please," Rapunzel slumped down to look Varian in the eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I insist. It's only one night and I want you to enjoy it," she said gently.

For a few moments, the young alchemist just stood there with his eyes cast down nervously, not sure what to say. Seeing her young friend in need of a different perspective, Cassandra came up behind him and gave his arm a light nudge to get his attention.

"It'd be kinda rude, turning down such a nice gesture from a member of the royal family," Cass muttered to him.

After thinking that over for a second, Varian decided that she was right. There was nothing wrong with accepting the offered room and there was no point in trying to refuse it either.

The young lad turned his attention back to the princess. "Well, okay. If you're offering, I'd love to," he said with a grateful smile.

"Great," Ophelia said, happily clapping her hands together. While her best friend and the princess were talking, she had placed her music sheets behind her, on the piano top. "Why don't you go get settled in. I still have a few minutes left to practice before my time is up."

"Right, of course. I won't distract you," Varian said to her. "But maybe after you're done in here and I unpack, we could hang out?" he asked hopefully. They didn't really get to hang out the last time he was there, so he really wanted to this time.

"Sure. But I have a few things to do a little later. Just helping with some last-minute setting up for the showcase," she told him. She really wanted to spend some time with him too, but she still had her duties. There was no reason she couldn't do both.

"Awesome," Varian replied, looking forward to that. "Well, I'll leave you to it. See you guys later," he said while stepping backwards until he reached the doorway, where Stan was still waiting.

"Bye Vary-Berry!" Ophelia waved to him as he walked out of the music room. The others all gave their own collected goodbyes as the young alchemist left with Stan to show him his room for the night.

Everyone left in the music room smiled as they watched the younger boy leave, but as soon as the door closed, the fifteen-year-old kitchen maid snapped into hysterics.

"OH MY STARS!" she yelled, trying not to be too loud—for fear of being heard from the hall outside. With her hands on her head, her fingers tugging on her dark auburn hair, Ophelia started pacing from the piano by the door to the windows on the other side of the room. "This is bad. This is not happening! What am I gonna do?!" she rambled to herself.

The three older people still in the room were startled at first from the younger girl's unexpected outburst. As they watched her pace and mutter worriedly to herself, they became concerned. "Ophelia?" Rapunzel tried to ask her as she stepped toward her.

The young kitchen maid paid the princess no notice and kept going. "WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo!?" she mumbled as she looked down at the floor.

Impatient to know what her problem was, Cass marched up to the crazy girl and grabbed her shoulders, stopping her from pacing and making her look at the lady-in-waiting. She could see the panic in the younger girl's wide eyes. "Ophelia!" she said gently and firm. "What is the matter with you?"

"Varian-" the younger girl uttered. "He-he wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to come," she said, despair in her voice.

"What? Why not? I thought you were happy that he came to support you," said Rapunzel as she and Eugene came up beside her and Cass.

Cass finally let go of Ophelia and the younger girl faced the princess. "I am… but I'm not. I mean, it's wonderful that he thought to come to support me…" she said, her tone light and happy—a gleam in her eye. "but I really wish he hadn't," her tone going back to despaired again.

"Okay, she is making less and less sense," Eugene said as he scratched the top of his head.

"Ophelia," Cass demanded, snapping the girl's attention back to the impatient lady-in-waiting. "Just tell us. Why is it so bad that Varian is here?"

Sighing, Ophelia reached behind her to grab her music sheets from off the piano top. "The song I wrote," she said as she handed them to Rapunzel.

The princess curiously took the papers and started looking them over. "What about it?" she asked. Eugene and Cass leaned over her shoulders to look too. The word at the top of the first page titled the song _Flashlight_. None of the three knew exactly what that word meant, but they continued reading the lyrics, flipping from the first page to the next. Rapunzel narrowed her eyes as she read. "It sounds like a love song," she said carelessly. Then in no time, her eyes widened when her brain made the connection. Rapunzel lowered the papers and looked at the younger girl, her mouth hanging open. "Oh my gosh!" she gasped before a big smile erupted on her face. "You're-!"

"Shhhhhh!" Ophelia frantically hushed her, afraid of anyone outside the music room hearing the princess's excited swells.

Rapunzel quickly covered her mouth with her hands—still holding the sheet music—for a second. "-with Varian!" she uncovered her mouth to quickly whisper-shout before covering it again.

"No. I just… I don't know," Ophelia admitted sheepishly before reaching out for her music sheets back. Rapunzel quickly handed them back to the song writer before covering her mouth again, not trusting herself to not scream her ecstatic joy. Ophelia stepped away, looking down at her music. "I was starting to have these feeling for him, stronger than our normal friendship and… this song happened," she admitted with a small smile on her face. But her face went back to frustrated a second later. "If I had known Varian was going to hear it before I was ready to tell him, I would have prepared a different song for tonight," she groaned, almost slamming the sheets back on the piano top.

"Calm down. Even if it is a love song, Varian won't know it's about him," said Cassandra.

"Yes, he will," Ophelia told her. "I based it off of how we first became friends."

Finally calm enough to speak normal again, Rapunzel took her hands away from her mouth. "I thought you guys grew up together and were always friends," she said, a bit confused.

"We did grow up together… but we weren't _always_ friends," Ophelia confessed, rubbing her arm and averting her eyes, looking away somewhat uncomfortably.

"What do you mean?" Eugene asked.

Sighing again, Ophelia leaned her back against the piano. "When Varian lost his mother, my mother wanted to help Quirin with looking after him. While he was busy, Varian would be with my mother and I. Sometimes at our house, sometimes at their house. Either or, we were always together." That much the three friends already knew. "When we were babies, I guess we got along just fine. Until we started going to school. Varian was the smartest kid in our class and it annoyed the heck out of everyone. Always raising his hand, always knowing the answer to every question the teacher asked the class, always correcting the other kids when they said the wrong answer. The girls I hung out with the most were especially annoyed. They teased him, called him names and said other mean things." Ophelia turned her head down, looking shamefully away. "And so did I…" she admitted, her voice full of regret.

* * *

_Flashback: Old Corona Schoolhouse- 8 years ago_

"…a plague of locus?" a six-year-old Ophelia said, a little unsure of being right.

Their teacher, a kind-looking young woman, Miss Nancy Beezle, stood at the front of the classroom and lightly shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ophelia. It was a plague, but not of locus," she gently told her student. Ophelia was about to open her mouth to make a different guess, but a hand right in the middle of the front row of desks shot up eagerly and the teacher turned her attention to him. "Varian," Miss Nancy said, gesturing to the little boy with his hand up.

"The city of Camorrot was plagued with _mice_ for three months, destroying most of their stored food. Until King Landon the II ordered every household to have a cat to protect their food and keep the mice away," the five-year-old lad with a mop of dark hair said, proud and confident.

Miss Nancy smiled. "Correct. Very good Varian," she congratulated the bright, young student.

Every other student in the classroom either rolled their eyes or huffed a light groan, not loud enough for the teacher to hear, as Varian elaborated. "The king had seventeen cats in his own castle."

In her seat—farthest to the right by the window, middle row—little Ophelia slumped in her chair, disappointed that she couldn't think fast enough to give the right answer herself before the class-brainiac corrected her.

When the day's classes were over, young students filed out of the schoolhouse and started walking home. But three girls decided to stay behind and talk by the side of the small building, a few feet away from the door—where students were still coming out.

"Ughhh, that Varian kid. Could he be any more of a know-it-all?" one of the girls, Myrtle, said. She had a head of super curly bright blonde hair, and wore a light green dress.

"No kidding," the second girl in a pink dress, Amanda, said before brushing a stray piece of her red hair out of her face just in time to see Ophelia exit the schoolhouse and walk towards them. Before she could walk off, the red-head stepped out of her little group. "Ophelia," she said as she stopped her. "I am so sorry," she said, making the young girl in purple looked at all three of them, confused.

"For what?" Ophelia asked.

"For the way Varian corrected you in class today. You must have been _so _embarrassed," Amanda told her, like she was trying to make the other girl feel like it was a big deal.

Ophelia looked down and shrugged. "I guess a little."

Not accepting that answer, the third girl in an orange dress, Elizabeth—or Beth as her friends called her, stepped up beside her friend in pink. "A little? Be honest, did you know the answer to that question?" she asked, her short light brown hair hitting her cheeks as she moved.

"Well, yeah. I mean, as soon as I said 'locus' I realized it wasn't right. I was going to correct myself but-" Ophelia said honestly before trailing off.

"Varian," all three girls added for her, rolling their eyes.

That name had become a nuisance to Ophelia as of late. "I just wish she had given me a chance to correct myself instead of calling on Varian… again," she said meekly.

"Hey, we've all been there," Myrtle tried to be sympathetic. Ophelia wasn't the only one in their class that had been passed over because Varian couldn't give anyone else a chance to look smart.

"That _small fry_ just doesn't know when to stop," Beth added in a snide voice. "Making the rest of us look dumb."

"Yeah. He does do that," Ophelia had to agree. "Like when my mom is helping us with homework, he always answers before I even have a chance to think. And… it does make me feel kinda dumb, and in front of my own mom too," she said, starting to get a bit angry.

Looks of realization came over the girls faces. "Oh that's right, your mom babysits Varian like all the time," Myrtle said. "So you're with him more than anyone else."

"You poor sweet girl," Amanda patted her shoulder as all three girls looked at her like she was the most unfortunate person in Corona. Then, out of the corner of their eyes, they saw little Varian finally stepping out of the schoolhouse. Miss Nancy was standing in the doorway, waving goodbye to him. When the teacher walked back inside and Varian started walking in their direction, a book opened in his hands and his eyes down on it attentively, a mischievous smirk came to Amanda's face. "Watch this," the girl in pink said as she moved passed Ophelia and stood with her back to the path Varian was walking. When she saw him coming closer, out of the corner of her eye, she lifted her foot up behind her. Varian, not seeing the foot in his way, tripped. The young lad hit the ground, making all the books he was carrying—including the one he was reading—land in the dirt. Amanda and her friends laughed as Varian laid on the dirt path. A few other students still around saw him fall and laughed too. Some pointing. Ophelia let a small and slightly awkward chuckle escape her lips, which she decided to try and conceal with her hand. "You shouldn't walk and read at the same time _bookworm boy_. Impossible to see where you're going," Amanda sneered to Varian as he got to his knees and started picking his books back up again.

"Thanks. I'll try and remember that," Varian said in a small, uninterested voice. He knew she did it on purpose, but chose to act like he was taking her advice to heart. It was just a tripping. Hardly worth the fuss. When he had his books back in his arms, he brushed off most of the dirt that was left on his clothes, and stood back up. When he was back on his feet, Varian turned his attention to the girl in a purple dress with her long dark auburn hair in two braids standing behind the girl that tripped him. His timid frown turned up into an anticipating smile. "Ophelia, you ready to go? We're spending the rest of the day at my house. Dad gave me my own space to conduce my own science experiments. You gotta see it," the young wanna-be scientist said enthusiastically.

Ophelia simply just wanted to tell Varian she wasn't interested in his scientific endeavors as gently as possible and leave it at that, but something about the way the other girls were looking at her made her want to throw tenderness out the window.

"Thanks Varian, but I don't feel like getting my face blown up today," she said as snooty as she could. Her comment had the desired effect; the girls giggled and she saw Varian's smile fall before he quietly walked away, clutching his books to his chest, heading for home.

_End of Flashback_

* * *

"Dang," Cassandra said. It was hard for her and the others to believe their Ophelia and Varian weren't always close friends.

"I know. He annoyed my _friends_ so much that I just let myself be annoyed by him too," Ophelia said, still not proud of how she described herself back then. She was just a little girl and didn't know better, but still. "I never did or said anything too mean to him, but I certainly didn't stop those girls or anyone else from doing anything much worse. I just watched and didn't care. All I cared about was fitting in and making sure at least those girls wanted to be my friends. And if that meant standing on the sidelines while Varian was being picked on and making it look like I enjoyed watching, then that's what I did. I basically ignored him outside of school too; my house, his house, out in town, anywhere where we had to be there at the same time." Ophelia grabbed a small piece of her dark-auburn violet hair in one hand, pulled it in front of her and started brushing her fingers threw it.

"Because we were always together, Varian tried to show me stuff and hang out with me, but like I said, 'I didn't care.' Sometimes I made up excuses if I didn't want to hurt his feelings, and other times if I didn't care about hurting his feelings, I just told him I didn't want to. Although, I don't think anything I said bothered him that much. If I turned him away, he never went to my mother to tell on me. But if she saw for herself me turning him away, then I usually got scolded for it. Then she would _make_ me spend time with him. Most of the time, he just wanted to share with me an interesting fact from one of his books. That only took a minute, if he didn't go into too much detail, so I just let him tell me it quickly just so we could move on." Ophelia gave a light chuckle at that memory. Remembering Varian when he was so young and eager to learn and share his findings. But her smile fell when she wished she had never pushed him away just for the sake of 'fitting in.'

"I did my best to avoid him at home and at school. But at school, I tried distancing myself from him more. Having everyone see me with Varian following after me and trying to talk to me was not the attention I wanted." Ophelia let go on her hair and flipped it back behind her, still looking down at the floor, ashamed of herself.

"Gosh. What changed?" Rapunzel asked, very engaged with her story and eager to know what happened next.

"Yeah, how did you guys go from being completely indifferent to completely inseparable?" Eugene asked from his girlfriend's side, quite engaged as well.

"And what does it have to do with your song?" Cass asked.

Ophelia looked back at the small group and smiled. "Well, it's like I said. I wrote it thinking back to what made me rethink what I thought of Varian and how we started to be actual friends," she said, stepping around the piano to face them as she leaned back against it. "I was about seven years old and Varian was six. We had the day off from school. I had spent most of the day with my girl friends at Amanda's house. It was later in the day; I was out behind my house picking flowers. Varian was inside reading of course, mother was starting dinner, and our fathers were out working. I went out to get a bouquet for the dinner table, but I mostly just wanted a moment away from Varian's constant rambling about science," the young kitchen maid in purple said with a nervous chuckle.

"There were some clouds gathering in the sky over the village. Mother said rain was coming, but I told her I would be quick outside. I was at the edge of the forest, a few flowers already in my hand, when I heard a noise. Something was moving in the bushes close by. I was startled, but when I turned my head, I saw it was just a bunny. It was so cute and looked so soft. I wanted to cuddle it so bad, but when I stepped closer with my hand out, it ran off. I totally forgot about the dark clouds above and my mother's warning and ran after the bunny.

I ran and ran, and when I did catch up to it, it just started running again. I don't even know how long I was chasing it for. I just knew that when I finally lost sight of it, I was lost. The sky was covered in dark clouds and the wind was picking up really fast. I turned around and tried to find my way back but the weather just got worse.

I remember the cold wind against my cheeks and blasting into my eyes, so it was hard to keep them open. I saw flashes in the sky followed by loud claps of thunder that made my heart jump. And when the rain came pouring down… that was when I truly felt helpless.

Cold. Wet. Lost. Alone.

The flowers I had picked had been blown out of my hand. I had nothing. I felt like I was going in circles. Every tree, every bush, every rock I passed looked the same. Until I found a small cave in a low rock-face. It wasn't the best place to take shelter, but it was better than standing out in the middle of the open storm. And I was too tired to take another step.

For hours, I sat in that small cave. At least it felt like hours. There wasn't enough room to completely keep me out of the rain. I shivered and hugged myself while I thought about my parents and how they must be so worried about me. They were probably out looking for me, along with Uncle Quirin and a few other villagers. I thought it would be a miracle for any of them to find me.

I was crying. Then, out of the darkness among the trees, I saw a little light. It was sort of flickering and looked like different colors. Sort of a gentle flashing. I thought it might be someone out looking for me, but I wasn't sure about the different colors. I thought I was seeing things. But then it started getting brighter, and I could vaguely hear someone calling my name.

So I started calling back. Then the light got closer and brighter. I could see the outline of a person with a light running towards me. I covered my eyes to the brightness and looked away, then I felt a warm cloak being wrapped over my shaking shoulders. When I looked back up at them… I couldn't believe it…" Ophelia laughed, remembering how dumbfounded she was that night. "I was fully expecting one of my parents or Uncle Quirin or some other adult to find me. But the one who did was the last person I was expecting." She turned her head away bashfully as she smiled. "It was Varian," she finally admitted. Everyone vaguely heard Rapunzel gasp with delight before the younger girl continued.

"Little Varian in a rain-cloak with the hood up, those goofy goggles over his eyes, and the colorful lights I saw were these glowing test tubes tied to the top of a walking stick he was carrying," she explained. "He helped me up and held onto my arm as he guided me out of there."

"How did he know his way back to the village?" asked Eugene. It's easy to get lost in the woods when the weather is clear; day or night. During a storm, it's almost impossible to find your way anywhere.

"Oh, another neat trick. While Varian was looking for me, he left a trail of these glowing goo markers on the trees he passed. He created them to not wash off from the rain or be harmful to the trees. So we followed those all the way back to the village," Ophelia explained proudly.

"Wow," Rapunzel said in awe, amazed Varian made something like that at such a young age. Well, younger than he already was. "Your parents must have been so worried."

"And angry. But relieved when they saw I was okay," she said with a shrug. "I was in so much trouble. Varian was in trouble too. Despite that he saved me, Quirin was not happy that his six-year-old son went out in the middle of a storm by himself." Not only did she still remember the frazzled and somewhat hysteric expressions on her parents faces, she also remembered Uncle Quirin's face; more worried and furious than she even saw him to this day. "With the messes his weird experiments caused, Varian got in trouble quite often, and I didn't care if he did or what happened to him. But it was different this time. Varian saved me, and I didn't deserve anything from him, not for the way I treated him. Yet he risked himself going out in that storm to try and save me. And even if he did find me and we both made it back, he must have known he would get in trouble anyway for going off on his own. But he still did it. For me. And it was my fault. He wouldn't have even been out there if I hadn't let myself get distracted by a silly old rabbit and wondered off. I couldn't just stand by anymore. It didn't feel okay anymore. For the first time… I _did_ care."

"That was the first time I stuck up for Varian and tried to convince his dad not to punish him. But, of course, we both got punished," she said with a sigh. "Because of the damage from the storm, school was canceled for four days. I wasn't allowed to go and play with my girl friends and Varian wasn't allowed to conduct any experiments. My mom gave Varian and I a lot of chores to do together. When we took breaks, we read books. I read fairytales and Varian had his science books. Varian tried to show me something he thought was fascinating—like always—and I let him tell me, but this time, I actually thought it was interesting, then I even asked him to explain it more. I sat beside him and we read that book together. And I enjoyed it. I actually enjoyed being around Varian. All I had to do was get my head out of the sand and give him a chance. And when we went back to doing chores, we kept talking and laughing as we worked. Varian even joined me in one of my working songs. Despite all the chores, it was an actually pretty fun four days," Ophelia smiled fondly at the memory. "I still remember that first day back at school after the clean-up…"

* * *

_Flashback: Outside Old Corona Schoolhouse—5 days after the storm _

Varian and Ophelia walked side by side, satchels over their shoulders and books held tight to their chests, towards the schoolhouse. The six-year-old alchemist to-be was batting on about a new chemical combination he wanted to try later after school. Now that they weren't under punishment anymore, he couldn't wait to go back to experimenting. As he talked, Ophelia listened attentively and with genuine interest. She was curious to watch him experiment and work his so called 'miracles of alchemy.'

The schoolhouse was in sight, only a few yards away, when the new duo's path was suddenly blocked by the three girls Ophelia once called her only friends.

"Hey Ophelia. We heard what happened," Amanda said, her voice laced with concern that didn't sound 100% genuine.

"You went out and got lost in the storm for hours," Beth added, also not spoken with much worry.

"Did you get in trouble?" Myrtle asked, lazily twirling one of her bright blonde curls with her finger.

The young girl in purple could obviously see these girls didn't really care. For a moment, she let herself feel dumb for not seeing that sooner. These girls weren't really her friends. "Yes, I did," Ophelia replied civilly. "My mother had me stay home and do chores with Varian for the past four days."

All three girls gasped. "Four day?" Beth said, flabbergasted.

"Doing chores, with _him_?" Myrtle sneered, gesturing to the young boy cowering at Ophelia's side, clutching his books to his chest tightly, looking smaller and small by the second. "I don't know how you survived," she added with a chuckle. Making her two other companions chuckle too.

"If it were me, I would have just gone right back out into the storm," Amanda said followed by more giggles from her and her friends.

"Yeah, the storm would have been far more merciful," Beth said, making them all laugh again, louder and without restraint.

"And less annoying to listen too," Myrtle added. All three girls laughed cruelly again.

"And less unbearable!" Amanda crackled through her laughter, making them all laugh even harder.

While they both stayed quiet during the mean girl's cruel jokes, Varian kept his eyes down with a crestfallen face, and Ophelia looked like steam was about to start coming out of her ears. Her knuckles tightened around her books, making them start to turn white. Had she really just let these girls say stuff like this to a sweet and brilliant little boy like Varian all this time?

Well not anymore.

"I'd take being back in that storm over being friends with any of you any longer, you… you rude little bullies!" Ophelia shrieked, interrupting the girl's laughter immediately. The three girls looked at her, wide-eyed and at a complete loss for words. Varian also looked at her with a shocked expression. Ophelia started stepping forward, poking a finger out to each of the girls. "And if I even catch any of you bad-mouthing Varian again, you'll wish you were out in that storm too." With that warning, and before any of the girls could reply, Ophelia grabbed Varian's hand and dragged him with her away from them.

"Don't you think you were a little harsh?" Varian asked when they stopped on the other side of the schoolhouse.

"Varian, I know you don't like confrontation, but you can't let people stomp all over you," Ophelia told him. Just because she was going to start sticking up for him from now on didn't mean he couldn't learn to do it himself. "Stand up for yourself. Push back a little. I'll help you," she said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder and offering a comforting smile.

Varian smiled back. "Thanks," he said. "But, don't think I can't help you when you need it." The young alchemist-to-be placed his hand on top of hers. "I've got your back too." Just because he had a hard time standing up for himself, didn't mean he couldn't come to the defense of a friend, now that he had one. "Because that's what friends are for."

Ophelia smiled bigger, glad that Varian felt that way.

When they heard the bell ring, the two new friends linked arms and walked into the schoolhouse together.

_End of Flashback_

* * *

"From that day on, I've always had Varian's back. And we've been best friends ever since," Ophelia ended her story with a fond smile.

"Ahhh! That's such a sweet story," Rapunzel gushed, her hands on her cheeks in adoration.

"Wait, I'm still a bit confused," Eugene raised his hand. "Out of that whole story, where does the word 'flashlight' come from?"

"Oh right. It was sort of a nickname I gave to the thing Varian used to light his way while out looking for me," Ophelia explained. "Remember, I said I saw a _light_, and it was _flashing_ through the trees? So from then on, whenever it was dark, I would ask Varian for one of his 'flashlights' and he would laugh. Then when I was writing the song, that word kept coming into my mind for lyrics, so it just seemed like a fitting title."

"But if that was how you became friends, why would Varian think the song you based it off of is a love song?" Cass asked.

"Cassandra, didn't you see the lyrics?" Rapunzel said before grabbing Ophelia's music sheets from off the piano top. "_I got all I need when I got you and I_…" she read aloud off the paper. "_Kick start my heart when you shine it in my eyes_… it's totally a love song. And since it's based on this important memory of their friendship, Varian will of course know it's about him."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Ophelia. "That's why Varian cannot be at that show," she said desperately.

"But Ophelia, this song is beautiful and I think Varian would love it," Rapunzel tried to convince her.

The young kitchen maid took a moment to think but her mind did not change. "No. I'm sorry Rapunzel but I'm just not ready to tell him yet," she said, holding herself with her eyes cased down. "Right now, we're just friends. What if I freak him out and he can't be friends with me anymore?" she said fearfully.

Her friendship with Varian meant everything to her. If he didn't feel the same way about her, that would make everything strange for the both of them. So much so that they couldn't be friends at all. She already knew Varian had a big crush on Cassandra—for reasons she still didn't quite understand—which meant he wouldn't accept a confession from her anyway. And Ophelia wouldn't risk their friendship for anything. Even if it meant being just best friends forever.

Rapunzel, recognizing the younger girl's concerns, placed the music sheets down and went up to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Ophelia, as much as I would love to see you and Varian together, I understand. If you're not ready to tell him, we'll help make sure he doesn't hear your song," she reassured her.

Ophelia sighed with relief and smiled. "Thank you, Rapunzel."

"But what can we do?" Eugene asked. He was onboard with helping the poor girl too, but didn't see how they could prevent a fourteen-year-old genius from going to a concert to support his best friend. "The kid came all this way just to see you perform. How are we supposed to get him to not go?"

"Okay, let's think," Rapunzel said, her hand on her chin in thought. "What would make somebody miss an event they really wanted to go to?"

"Sick, maybe?" Eugene said after a few silent moments of thinking.

"How are we supposed to get Varian sick by tonight?" his girlfriend asked.

"We could slip him some bad fish and give him food poisoning."

"Absolutely not! I am not going to poison my best friend!" Ophelia exclaimed. She had been feeding Varian for half of her life, she would never intentionally serve him food that would make him sick.

Eugene held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, it was just a suggestion. We'll think of something else."

As her over-eccentric friends (and Eugene) plotted how to keep Varian away from the showcase, Cassandra stood back, thinking of her own plan.

Ophelia might not remember so clearly because she was sick and slightly delirious at the time, but Cass remembered clear as day. Varian had said a lot of things during the aftermath of the Science Expo. Things that would suggest he cared for her much greater than as a friend. He was also giving her some serious goo-goo eyes. She of course knew Varian already cared greatly for the girl, but from what he was saying suggested a change of heart.

Although, the lady-solider could understand Ophelia's concerns. She said that she wasn't ready to tell Varian she liked him more than just as a friend, plus she was sure Varian still had a crush on her and didn't feel like that about his best friend. And that could ruin a friendship if feelings like that were only one-sided.

But Cass had a pretty good suspicion that they weren't.

That being so, maybe Varian should hear that song. Even if she had to sneak around Rapunzel's plan, Cassandra was going to make sure he did.

* * *

**I know, really long chapter. But there is more to come.**

**Also, just wanted to say I don't own the song sampled here (full version will be used in later chapter). The song lyrics from 'Flashlight' I got from the Jessie J version. I loved hearing this song at the end of _Pitch Perfect 2_. The list of songwriters for the song was longer than I could have thought: Mario Mejia, Sia Furler, Jason Moore, Samuel Frederick Smith, and Christian Nicolas Guzman (those are all the names under 'songwriters' that I saw at the bottom of the lyrics).**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everybody! Despite that this story has gotten almost no attention from anyone, I'm keeping up with finishing it and then to the following stories. **

**But first, I'd just like to say (in light of the latest episode of the show 'Be Very Afraid') I didn't know Lance had stage fright. Otherwise I wouldn't have planned on him singing a duet with Eugene in this showcase. But I'm not changing it. ****That was a great episode though.**

**Anywho, on with the story.**

* * *

True to her promise, after she was done with her rehearsal time in the music room, Ophelia met up with Varian to chat and catch up. Varian told her about recent events back in Old Corona and about a few new projects he was thinking about. Ophelia then started showing Varian around the castle. Although he already knew his way around the castle pretty well from helping Cass with her chores the last time he was there, Varian enjoyed seeing everything again without having to worry about whether it was clean enough.

During their little tour, Ophelia tried to convince herself that she was okay with Varian hearing her song at the showcase. Then she could tell Rapunzel, Eugene, and Lance (they had recruited him to help as well) to forget about coming up with a plan and just let Varian go to the showcase and hear her perform the song.

But she couldn't. Ophelia was convinced Varian just liked her as a friend and only had eyes for Cassandra. Confessing to him would only hurt them both.

No. Even if she wasn't afraid of ruining their friendship, she wasn't ready. She'd be too nervous telling him for the first time in front of so many other people. It might mess up her performance and ruin the showcase.

If she was ever going to tell him, it would be more private and in a more personal setting.

While their two younger friends were enjoying their afternoon together, Rapunzel, her boyfriend and his best friend, were concocting a plan on how to make sure Varian missed Ophelia's performance.

The princess also wanted to recruit Cass, but she knew she was busy finishing her lady-in-waiting duties before the showcase so she could report for guard duty. Then she would be busy on duty for the rest of the night. While this was true, Cass made sure to know all about their plan so she could make her own plan around it.

Per Ophelia's strict orders, making Varian sick or injuring him to make him miss the showcase was off the table. She didn't want Varian to miss the whole show, just her part. He had come all this way and she didn't want him to miss the other performances. Ophelia wasn't performing until after the intermission. She was the second performance into the second half. This worked well in their favor because Varian could watch the first half of the show and then when the intermission started, he would leave the ballroom theater. So all they had to do was find a way to make sure he didn't go back in after the break was over.

Since they couldn't do anything to mess with his health or physical well-being, their only option that made sense… was to trap him somehow.

If they could get Varian into a room away from the ballroom and lock the door, he would be stuck inside during Ophelia's song. And if they made it look like an accident, Varian wouldn't be suspicious. Then they would go back and let him out afterwards.

It was fool proof. They just needed the perfect room.

* * *

The first half of the showcase went by without a hit. Rapunzel performed one of her favorite songs, 'Wind in My Hair' and Eugene and Lance sang their _best buddies_ duet. And the audience loved them. Now it was intermission and everyone was in the connected dining room, where there were refreshments available.

Varian was standing along the wall by a window, a half-eaten cinnamon and oatmeal cookie in one hand and a goblet of fruit punch in the other. He was waiting for Ophelia to come back.

They were sitting together for the whole first half of the show and it was nice, and when the intermission had started, they went to the dining room to share a quick snack and talk. But she couldn't stay with him long. Ophelia had to go to the backstage area—a staging area set up between the music room and the stage set up in the ballroom—to check that everything was in order before her performance. But she said she would come back to the dinning room to see him quickly before the intermission was over and it would be her turn soon.

Varian still had to wish her good luck after all.

No. Scratch that—break a leg.

Varian was standing alone for maybe three minutes. As the young alchemist took another bit of his cookie, two familiar gents walked over to stand with him.

"Hey Varian," Eugene greeted.

"Sup little man?" Lance added, both with friendly smiles.

"Oh, hey guys," Varian said after swallowing. "Great job. I loved your duet about your friendship."

"Thanks," said Eugene, flattered. "Ain't that hard when you're performing with your best friend." Eugene affectionately nudged Lance and the bigger guy gave a hardy laugh.

"Yeah. Makes me wish I could have come sooner and prepared a song to sing with Ophelia. Then we could have sung a duet too," Varian said before taking a sip of his punch.

"You like to sing?" Lance asked with a raised brow. Eugene also raised a brow. He knew Varian a bit more than Lance and he didn't know that.

Varian shrugged. "Sometimes. Mostly just with Ophelia. But, then again, I've never really sung in front of anyone besides her, so I probably wouldn't do so well in front a big crowd like this," he admitted. Sure, he could present an invention to a big crowd, like at the Expo, but that was because he was confident about his inventions. He wasn't so confident in his singing quite yet. Not like Ophelia was.

"Yeah, that's a real shame," Eugene muttered quickly before steering the conversation where he needed to put the plan into motion. "Hey, speaking of Ophelia, she actually sent us to come and get you."

Varian stopped himself just as he was about to take another bite of his cookie. "She did? Is she okay?" he asked, looking at them concerned.

Was Ophelia alright? Was something wrong with her? Was she feeling nervous and got sick? No, Ophelia never gets nervous about performing enough for that to happen. Was she hurt? Did she fall and break her hand and couldn't play her piano piece? Did she accidently eat something with mushrooms in it from the buffet and was having an allergic reaction?!

Seeing the younger boy's concern quickly turning into hysterical panic, Eugene finally said something. "Relax, she's fine. It's just… apparently, that raccoon friend of yours is backstage, running around and causing all sorts of hoopla."

Varian sighed with relief. His panic melted away but quickly turned into confusion. "Ruddiger? But I didn't bring him with me. He's back home."

"Well then, he must have followed you here to the castle and then went back stage to see Ophelia," Lance added.

"Oh no," Varian said to himself. He decided to not bring Ruddiger because he was afraid of exactly this happening. If he let him out of his sight for a minute, he knew the little guy would run off. And he did not want his raccoon companion running amuck, disrupting the showcase; patrons and performers. "I gotta go back there and get him." As much as he loved the little troublemaker, he couldn't let anything potentially ruin his dearest friend's big night.

Eugene and Lance exchanged a secret look. "Great! We'll show you the way. Come with us," Eugene said, gesturing to the entrance of a hallway a few feet away.

Varian shoved the last of his cookie in his mouth and set his punch goblet down before following the two older men out of the crowded dining room and down the hallway. This hallway lead to the backstage area, where all the performers waited just before going on and where they kept their instruments and/or props.

Just as they were approaching the turn in the hall that would put them at the beginning of the hall that lead backstage, they stopped at the sight of the princess running towards them.

"Varian! There you are. I just saw Ruddiger run this way. Come on!" Rapunzel exclaimed, pointing to another hall in a different direction, leading away from the backstage area. As the princess started running down the other hallway, the three boys followed her.

After a few turns into different halls, putting them further and further away from the ballroom, the group finally came to a stop at a four-way intersection of halls.

"Where do you think he went?" Eugene asked, pretending to scratch his head as he looked around.

"Maybe he ran in there," Lance said, pointing to an open door a little ways down the hall directly in front of them.

"I'll go in and look," Varian told the group before slowly walking toward the door.

"Great idea! We'll stand by the door in case he comes running out past you," Eugene whisper-shouted from behind. The ex-thief then winked at his best friend and girlfriend, who both replied with a thumbs up before following the younger boy, on their tip-toes, a few feet behind him.

When Varian reached the door and looked into where it led to, he saw it was a supplies closet, with shelves on both sides. The room was narrow but long and stretched out in front of him.

The young alchemist stepped into the closet and slowly walked further in, looking all around among the cluttered shelves for a ball of gray fur. "Ruddiger? You in here buddy?" he gently called but got no response. By the time he reached the far end of the closet, he still found no signs of his raccoon friend being in there. Varian wished he had grabbed some more snacks from the buffet to lure his little friend out of hiding. Maybe an apple or some shortbread cookies.

_SLAM!_

Varian jumped as he heard the closet door close suddenly. Alarmed, Varian ran back to the door. But when he tried to push it open, it wouldn't budge.

"Guys?" he yelled through the door. "Hey guys! What's going on?!"

"Varian? Are you okay?" he heard Rapunzel's concerned voice ask from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Varian answered before trying to pull the door latch again but the door still wouldn't give. "I can't open the door!"

"Oh Varian, I'm so sorry," Rapunzel apologized. To her, it had a double meaning. She felt bad for doing this to Varian and that they were gonna make him miss a show he really wanted to see, but she promised Ophelia. "This door sometimes gets stuck if it's closed to hard."

That was a lie. As soon as Lance and Eugene had slammed the door shut, she had quickly snuck a lock on the outside latch. She had the key, but she wasn't supposed to use it until later.

"Then why'd you close it?" Varian asked.

"Uh, that was my fault," Eugene admitted. "Pascal was camouflaged on Lance's head and when he reappeared, it startled me and I accidently pushed him against the door and it shut." They had worked out this excuse earlier but it still felt lame.

"What?" Varian exclaimed. Lame or not, the younger boy was still buying it. "Well maybe you guys can pry it open. You're all strong," he suggested.

Eugene and Lance looked at each other quickly before grabbing at the door and pulling. With the lock on, they knew it wouldn't work, but they had to make Varian hear that they were at least trying. While they did this, Varian tried pushing on the door from the inside. After a minute, the two older men stopped pulling. "Sorry, Varian. It just won't budge," Lance hollered through the door.

Giving the door another pound with his fist, Varian racked his brain for another possible way out. "Eugene, you can pick the lock," he hollered excitedly. He knew Eugene could pick any lock—not the fictional him he read about, the real him.

Eugene froze. "Uhhh," he uttered, looking between his girlfriend and best friend. How was he supposed to explain why he couldn't pick the lock on the door? But then he remembered that this door didn't have a lock. Varian didn't know about the lock they had to put on it. "It's not a lock, buddy. The door latch is stuck. I can't pick a jammed door latch," he explained quickly.

Lance gave him a big smile and two thumbs up. Good excuse.

At that moment, Rapunzel glanced at the grandfather clock back in the hall intersection where they entered from and saw the time.

"It's 7:30," she said out loud. They all knew what that meant.

"What!?" Varian shouted, starting to shake the door again. "The intermission is over. Ophelia's gonna go on soon. I'm gonna miss her song!" he yelled desperately.

"I'm sorry, Varian. We can't open the door," Lance told him again.

Breathing heavily, Varian braced his forearms on the door, followed by his forehead. "No," moaned miserably. _How_, he asked himself. _How could I have such bad luck on tonight of all nights. _

"It's okay Varian. We'll go tell Ophelia what happened, she'll understand," Rapunzel reassured him.

"Blondie, you go let Ophelia know what happened, while Lance and I continue looking for Ruddiger," Eugene said, making sure to say it loud and clear enough for Varian to hear from in the closet. As far as he knew, his little raccoon companion was still running wild in the castle and had to be found.

"Yeah. We still have to find that little guy," Lance added. "Unless he's stuck in there with Varian," he said, pointing his thumb back toward the door.

"I'm pretty sure he's not in here guys," Varian muttered glumly. He knew Ruddiger. If he was in there with him, he would have made himself known by now, especially if he heard his boy in distress.

Hearing him so upset, Rapunzel felt bad again about doing this to poor Varian. The princess stepped closer to the door and laid a hand on the thick wood. "I'm sorry, Varian. It'll be okay, we'll figure something out. I promise," she said to him.

"Just go enjoy the rest of the show. I'll stay here," Varian said, his voice still gloomy as he sat on the closet floor, leaning his back against the door. Out in the hallway, the men stepped away from the door and the princess was about to follow. "Rapunzel," she heard the young alchemist ask, making her stop. "Tell Ophelia she'll do amazing."

Rapunzel smiled. "Of course," she promised before leaving the hallway with Eugene and Lance. She still felt incredibly guilty. She really wanted to see Varian and Ophelia happy together like she and Eugene were. But sadly, that wasn't going to happen tonight.

* * *

Ophelia waited anxiously in the hallway between behind the stage and the music room. She had been watching from behind the music room door when Varian came running down the hall with Eugene and Lance. Then of course, when Rapunzel stopped them and lead them down another hall toward the closet. All according to plan.

Tricking Varian, lying to him, it didn't feel right. True, she wasn't the one lying to his face, but she was the one who put the ones who did up to it. Varian was one of the people she most adored in this world, but it was for that very reason she had to let her friends do this. As much as she wanted to tell him how she felt, how much she wanted him to hear her song for him, she couldn't let him. Not yet.

When she heard fast approaching foot steps coming her way, Ophelia turned around and saw Rapunzel, Eugene, and Lance running toward her.

"Well?" she asked them.

"He's in the closet, safe and sound," Eugene reported proudly.

The young kitchen maid sighed in relief. "Okay," she said. "Why don't you guys go take your seats. We'll go and let Varian out later."

The three took her suggestion and started to walk back down the hall, but Rapunzel turned back. "Ophelia," she said, laying a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. Ophelia looked back at her. "Varian says he knows you'll do amazing," the princess told her.

Ophelia smiled, glad to hear what she knew Varian would have told her himself just before she was about to go on. That, and _break a leg_. "Thanks," she thanked the blonde girl.

The sound of applause from the next room filled the hall. A few seconds later, Nigel came out the door that lead to the part of the ballroom the was curtained off. "Ophelia, you're on," the squire told the younger girl.

After giving one more encouraging look to her young friend, Rapunzel ran back down the hall to caught up to her boyfriend to watch the show.

Ophelia made her way through the backstage area until she was standing behind a curtain off the side of stage right. She watched as some of the other castle servants—who were acting as stage hands for the night—rolled a piano out for her to play on. When it was set in place and they left off stage, Ophelia did what she always did before performing; closed her eyes, grabbed a handful of her hair to stroke her fingers though three or four times, and took a deep breath.

When she was done, Ophelia opened her eyes and walked out on stage with a big confident smile. The ballroom full of people applauded as she waved to them and sat on the piano bench.

"My name is Ophelia and I will be performing an original song I wrote and composed myself."

She looked out at all the people. Despite looking out into a dark room with a bright light shining on her, she recognized a lot of faces; Rapunzel sitting with Eugene and Lance close to the front, King Fredric and Queen Arianna in the middle of the back row, even Cass in her guard uniform standing at attention next to a shorter guard who was holding a playbill a little too close up to their face.

Seeing all these friendly faces she knew she was about to perform for was nice, yet even though she was the one who wanted to keep him away, Ophelia still wished Varian was there with her too.

Someday she'll play it for him. Just not tonight.

But she supposed she could at least pretend she was ready to share the song with him and he was somewhere in the audience, waiting at the edge of his seat to hear it.

An extra deep breath later, Ophelia placed her fingers on the keys and started to play. Then she started to sing.

"_When tomorrow comes, I'll be on my own_

_Feeling frightened of the things that I don't know_

_When tomorrow comes, tomorrow comes_

_When tomorrow comes._

_And though the road is long, I look up to the sky_

_And in the dark, I found, a hope that I could fly_

_And I sing along, I sing along, and I sing along…_

_I got all I need when I got you and I_

_I look around me and see a sweet life_

_I'm stuck in the dark but you're my flashlight_

_You're getting me, getting me through the night._

_Kick start my heart when you shine it in my eyes_

_Can't lie, it's a sweet life_

_I'm stuck in the dark but you're my flashlight_

_You're getting me, getting me through the night_

_You're my flashlight _

_You're my flashlight—oh _

_I see the shadows long beneath the mountain top_

_I'm not afraid when the rain won't stop_

'_Cause you light the way_

_You light the way, you light the way!_

_I got all I need when I got you and I_

_I look around me and see a sweet life_

_I'm stuck in the dark but you're my flashlight_

_You're getting me, getting me through the night._

_Kick start my heart when you shine it in my eyes_

_I can't lie, it's a sweet life_

_I'm stuck in the dark but you're my flashlight_

_You're getting me, getting me through the night._

_Light, light, light, you're my flashlight, light, light_

_You're my flashlight, light, light_

_You're my flash—oh!_

_I got all I need when I got you and I_

_I look around me and see a sweet life_

_I'm stuck in the dark but you're my flashlight_

_You're getting me, getting me through the night_

_Kick start my heart when you shine it in my eyes_

_I can't lie, it's a sweet life_

_I'm stuck in the dark but you're my flashlight_

_You're getting me, getting me through the night_

'_Cause you're my flashlight_

'_Cause you're my flashlight_

_You're my flashlight"_

Tears of passion on the corners of her eyes, Ophelia played a brief piano transition to the last bit of the song.

"_You're my flashlight, light, light, you're my flashlight, light, light_

_Ye-yeah_

_You're my flashlight."_

As the last chord of the piano rang though the air of the ballroom, a defining applause quickly followed. Ophelia turned toward the audience before standing from the bench. Facing the cheering crowd, she proudly took a bow. Everyone who was already sitting down was on their feet, standing as they clapped and cheered louder. A few whistles even sounded. When Ophelia raised her head back up, she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

Well almost. Her smile deterred a bit when she remembered her biggest fan and greatest friend wasn't present and wasn't cheering for her. But she tried not to think about that. Instead, she tried to focus on what just happened and what was in front of her; she just gave a great performance and she was getting a standing ovation.

* * *

**Just saying it again, I do not own the song used here, 'Flashlight.' **

**Please guys, follow, favorite, and review. I know at least a few of u liked my first 2 stories here so I don't get why you're not back for this. Sorry if I sound pushy, I just can't believe I only have 1 favorite after a whole month since publishing this. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! I had something I wanted to finish for the holiday season, and now its done, so here I am again.**

**I was planning on finishing this story in this chapter, but I reached a point that I thought was a good 'end of chapter' moment, so just 1 more chapter after this one and then it's on to the next story. Sorry if it's a bit short. **

* * *

Ophelia walked off the stage and back into the hallway, full of pride, with the sound of applauds slowly fading behind her.

"Ophelia, that was incredible!" she heard the unmistakable cheer of the princess running toward her. As the two young ladies embraced, the princess' boyfriend came up as well, followed by his best friend.

"Yeah, they loved you," Lance added, still hearing the crowd.

"Thanks," Ophelia said as she ended the hug. "I feel so good right now!" she squealed, jumping and swinging her arms in an over-ecstatic fashion.

The other three just watched, shaking their heads with smiles on their faces. "So…" Eugene said when she was done.

"So?" Ophelia asked, not sure what the older gent was saying.

"Should we go let Varian out now?"

This snapped the younger girl's attention back to the fact that her dearest friend was still locked in a closet, sad and confused. "Oh, right! Duh!" she smacked her forehead. "Let's go."

She and the others started making their way back down the hallway toward the closet.

"Ok, we'll have to be careful not to let him see the lock when you take it off the door," said Lance as they walked.

"I was also thinking that we also need something to show him we used to pry the door open with. You know, cause we couldn't pry it open with our bare hands earlier," Rapunzel added.

Eugene smiled, affectionately nudging her. "Look at you, Blondie. Covering all our tracks, thinking ahead," he said, sort of proud. As a former-criminal, he of all people admired a good mischievous and well-thought through plan. Especially from his beloved girlfriend.

"Please don't congratulate me. I still feel guilty about all this deception," she replied, not sounding or looking proud.

"Me too," Ophelia said. "I hate lying to Varian. But I'm glad you thought of that so we cover all our bases. I **do not** want him finding out that I lied to him and plotted against him." Varian was a very smart person, so they really needed to be careful.

This made Eugene and Lance both chortle a bit. "Plotted against him? You make it sound like we robbed him blind and threw him in a pit or something," Eugene chuckled.

Ophelia sort of agreed. "Okay, maybe I'm being a bit over dramatic, but I still feel bad. But I'll feel even worse if he finds out."

"He's not going to find out," Lance reassured her. "You guys get back to the closet, I'll go find something we can use to 'pry the door open' with." And with that, Lance ran off down another hallway to retrieve what they needed while the others stayed on their course.

"I just thought of something else," Ophelia said a minute later. "When we get Varian out, he's gonna want to go looking for Ruddiger because he still thinks he's running around the castle somewhere. So I think we should tell him that some guards found and trapped the raccoon that was in here, but it turned out not to be Ruddiger after all, so they simply released it back into the forest. So he doesn't have to worry about that," she explained.

"Ha! And I thought I was the brilliant schemer," Eugene praised the other girl's thorough planning skills.

The trio continued to talk about the plan, but started talking softer the closer they got to the hall intersection that lead to the closet. They certainly didn't want Varian overhearing them.

"Should we all go over?" Ophelia asked, peaking around the corner a bit but was stopped by Eugene.

"No," he said. "I know what to do. You two stay here, and I'll go over myself, make sure he's okay and tell him 'help is on the way.' Then I'll come back here, and we wait until Lance comes back with the thing, then we all go over together and 'free' him," Eugene explained. He wasn't the only one who brought their A-game deception skills.

"Perfect," Rapunzel said to her boyfriend.

Eugene left the intersection, leaving the princess and kitchen maid alone.

Ophelia leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. "I hope he's okay," she said worriedly.

"Varian is fine," Rapunzel replied, walking the floor in front of her, back and forth as they waited. "He might be rushing to the bathroom as soon as we open the door, but other than that." Then again, he had only been in there less than half an hour. But, Eugene did mention he was drinking a lot of fruit punch during the intermission.

"I just hope he's not too upset he missed my piece. That was why he came tonight in the first place."

"He did sound pretty upset when we couldn't open the door and he knew he was going to miss your song," Rapunzel said, thinking back and remembering how sad it made her to hear how sad he was. Then she perked up a bit. "Maybe you could give him a private concert later. Just sing something else," she suggested.

Ophelia nodded with a small smile, thinking that was the least she could do for him. Then, very quickly, the smile was gone. "I'm just so nervous," she groaned, placing both of her hands on top of her head. "What if he finds out? Maybe not tonight but sometime in the future. What are we gonna do then?"

Rapunzel placed her hands on both of the younger girl's shoulders, stopped her mini-breakdown and making her look directly at the princess. "You're gonna do what all best friends do," she said calmly. "Work it out." She smiled, and Ophelia smiled back. "Cause nothing can stop you two from being friends." Ophelia finally dropped her hands from her hair and placed them on Rapunzel's.

"Uh, ladies!" they heard Eugene holler as he came running back into the intersection with them. Both girls dropped their hands to their sides and looked at the frazzled man. "I think we have a problem!"

Alarmed, the two girls followed the ex-thief back down the hall. When they arrived at the closet, they could clearly see what the problem was.

The lock was on the floor in front of the closet, the door was opened wide, and no one was inside it.

* * *

**I missed this story, so it's good to be back. **

**Hope to post the last chapter soon. Bye ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Last chapter everyone!**

**Sorry I left the last chapter on sort of a cliffhanger and then didn't update as soon as I probably should have. (20 days isn't too bad though I guess)**

**Hope u enjoy.**

* * *

Ophelia couldn't decide if she wanted to scream, faint, or vomit.

Varian wasn't locked in the closet anymore. And if he wasn't locked in the closet anymore, who let him out?

And where was he?

She looked at the empty storage closet, both hands covering her mouth as she slowly backed into the opposite wall.

"Ophelia, I swear, he was in there when we left him and that lock was solid," Eugene tried to reassure the girl, swiping a hand along his hair then down his neck.

The alarmed kitchen maid dropped her hands sharply. "Then how did he get out?!" she exclaimed before holding the sides of her head. "How could he have gotten himself out?"

"He didn't," Rapunzel said as she leaned down and picked up the discarded lock from the floor. She quickly inspected the lock, finding no damage to it. Then she looked at the door itself and also saw no damage as well. "The lock was on the outside of the door, and Varian was on the inside. He couldn't even get to the lock. The lock itself and the door are both not broken, so it was simply unlocked with something and removed," she pondered aloud before facing the other two again. "Which can only mean that someone else let him out."

She had the key that unlocks that lock, but it hadn't left her pocket all night. Eugene is an expert lock-picker, but he was with her the whole time. Plus, he promised to go with the plan. So he didn't do it.

The princess didn't know who could have, or would have.

"Maybe someone walked by and heard him, then found a spare key and let him out?" Eugene suggested.

"Okay. Maybe. But if he got out, where would he have gone?" Ophelia asked before another thought hit her hard. "Oh stars! Did he go back into the theater? Do you think he caught my performance in time and heard my song?!" she shouted, hysterical with panic.

Quickly, Rapunzel grabbed the younger girl by both her shoulders. "Okay, okay, calm down," she tried to tell her. "I'm sure he didn't. Maybe he was let out only a minute ago and we just missed him." Ophelia calmed a bit, and Rapunzel pulled away to think. "I think he'd either rush to the theater to enjoy the rest of the show, or head backstage to see you."

Eugene walked up to them. "Blondie, you and I will look for him in the theater ballroom," he said to his girlfriend before turning to the other girl. "Ophelia, you go back to the music room and see if he went there."

Exchanging nods of understanding, they spit up. Ophelia made her way back the way they had come; to the music room and backstage area, while Rapunzel and Eugene went the other way; toward the ballroom where the showcase was still going on.

Just as they made it to the hall that lead to the empty dining room connected to the ballroom, Eugene asked, "Hey Rapunzel, do you really think the kid didn't get out until _after_ Ophelia's song?"

"I…I don't know," Rapunzel exasperated. "You saw how freaked out she was. I'm trying to be optimistic for her," she prattled on as they stopped just at the end of the hall. "Would it be so bad if he heard the song? No. But Ophelia said she wasn't ready, so I'm doing my best to honor her wish."

"Maybe she's worrying for nothing," a cool voice said in front of them.

"Exactly," Rapunzel said before turning and finally noticing who it was that just spoke. The princess gasped, just a bit startled at first but then was happy to see her best friend.

Cassandra stood there, leaning against the hallway wall right on the corner that lead into the dining room, still in her guard uniform. "Hey guys," she greeted them. "Why are you out here and not in the ballroom watching the second half of the showcase?"

"Cass! Thank goodness. Have you by any chance seen Varian anywhere?" Rapunzel asked frantically, running up to her.

"Varian? Why do you ask?" she asked in a curious but nonchalant way.

Rapunzel took a deep breath. "Okay, just before the end of the intermission, we trapped Varian in a closet to make him miss Ophelia's song, and after her performance was over, we were gonna let him out but we just checked the closet and he wasn't there anymore so have you seen him?" she frantically explained in one breath.

Cass looked like she was pondering on the thought for a moment before speaking. "Well, now that you mention it…"

The female guard let her sentence go unfinished as the missing young man came walking to them from around the corner, right behind her.

"Varian!" the princess exclaimed with joy and relief. Varian acknowledged her presence with a small smile but his focus quickly went elsewhere. Lost in thought about something. Rapunzel's smile faded as well when she looked down at what he was holding in his hands; a neatly folded guard uniform, with a helmet and everything. Along with a playbill from the show. "What…why do you have those?"

"I gave him those to wear after getting him out of that closet," Cass told her.

"They were a little big on me, but…they were fine," Varian said with a shrug as he handed them back to her. They fit him well enough for the brief time he needed them.

Cass took the clothes back as Rapunzel and Eugene just stared at the two of them. "You let him out?" the blonde princess asked, not entirely believing her best friend did it. "But how did you-?"

Before she could finish her question, Cass pulled a key out from her pocket. "There's more than one key for all the locks, Raps," she told her best friend. "And before you ask; yes, Varian heard Ophelia's song."

Rapunzel couldn't believe her ears, and neither could Eugene. Cass must have let Varian out of the closet with the spare key just after they left him. Then she disguised him in a guard uniform so he wouldn't be recognized by Ophelia or anyone else and rushed him back into the theater just in time for her performance.

That all made sense, but what Rapunzel still didn't understand was…

"Why?" she asked.

Why would Cass go against their plan like that?

"I'm sorry, Raps. I knew there was no convincing Ophelia to just let Varian hear the song, so I had to go around your plan a little," Cass explained to her apologetically.

While Rapunzel always appreciated any apology, she was still not happy. Cass might not have agreed to help with the plan, but she was with them when Ophelia explained why she needed their help. "Cass, I really wanted him to hear the song too, but you heard what Ophelia said earlier. She wasn't ready," the blonde girl said, slightly disappointed.

"Rapunzel," Varian finally spoke up, drawing the attention of the three young adults. "I'm not mad at you for what you guys did. You were trying to help Ophelia," he said to the couple. "But I'm glad Cassie did what she did." Cass smiled proudly as Varian pressed his back to the opposite wall of the hallway. The young alchemist raised his head up, looking at the ceiling with a stupid grin on his face. "Ophelia… she was amazing. And that song…" he sighed dreamily before sliding down the wall and sat on the floor.

The best way Varian could describe how he was feeling was, in a single word—delirious.

Struck absolutely dumb with excitement, ecstasy, and joy. Blissfully delirious.

His head felt light as a feather. Like he was floating on a cloud. While his heart was beating so fast, it was like a hummingbird's wings.

Every verse in Ophelia's song he recognized from so long ago when he saved her, she stood up for him for the first time, and they became the best of friends.

He wasn't at all surprised she used the name she used to call his glowing-waking stick for the song. But that wasn't what he heard in the lyrics. She wasn't referring to his invention as the flashlight. The flashlight was _him_.

Her flashlight.

Her sweet, gentle light.

Her love.

Rapunzel stared at the young boy as Cass came up to stand by her best friend. "I know Ophelia said she wasn't ready. I know she was worried about ruining her and Varian's friendship. But, as you can see…" she trailed off, gesturing down to the starry-eyed lad. Varian's expression spoke for itself.

Curiously, Rapunzel squatted down in front of the dark-haired boy. "Varian?" she asked him, an excited grin blooming on her face. "Do you…like Ophelia now?"

Varian's eyes snapped back into focus on the princess before him. "Now? No. I've liked her for at least a while, I think," he said to her, sort of bashful.

"Really?" Rapunzel's eyes widened, realization dawning on her before turning back to her best friend. "That's why you did it," she said to Cass. "You knew Varian already liked her, so he needed to hear the song!" she exclaimed, no longer disappointed by her choice.

"Yeah. Varian kinda clued me in on it during the Science Expo clean-up a few weeks ago," she explained coolly.

Then the princess's face fell again when another thought occurred to her. "But, why didn't you say something back in the music room earlier when we were making the plan?" If Cass had told Ophelia and the rest of them earlier that she knew, it would have neutralized her fear of ruining her friendship with Varian. Then maybe they wouldn't have needed to do all this.

"Rapunzel, do you really think Ophelia would have liked hearing from _me_ that Varian already liked her more than as a close friend?"

After thinking about that for a moment, the princess could see what she meant. "I - guess you're right. She wouldn't have." That just wasn't something you would want to learn from anyone else but that person. Rapunzel's expression quickly went back to happy. "But it's okay now. Varian's heard the song and now he can walk right up to Ophelia and say-"

"No, Rapunzel!" Varian interrupted her, standing up from the floor. "I can't. Not yet."

Once again, the blonde princess was shocked. "Why not? You like her, she likes you. You guys should be together."

"I know, and I want to, but… I'm not ready," Varian said, stressfully rubbed the back of his neck. "Ophelia doesn't know I heard the song, so I'd just like for it to stay that way. Just for now."

"But kid, she knows you got out of the closet earlier than we had planned. She already thinks you might have gone back to the showcase and heard it anyway," Eugene chimed in finally.

Varian furrowed his brow. "Then we're going to tell her a different story," he said, determined.

"What?" the princess and ex-thief said at the same time.

"When she gets here, we tell her I let Varian out while 'looking for the raccoon that was loose in the castle.' Then I walked around with him, away from the ballroom, looking for Ruddiger, and then another guard came to us with the captured raccoon, and Varian saw it wasn't his buddy after all and then let him go," Cassandra explained. "And by the time that was done, her performance was already over."

It seemed like a reasonable tale, but Eugene of course noticed a hole or two. "Uhh, Cass, not that that's not a great cover and all, but there was never a raccoon loose in the castle. So how is she gonna buy that? Actually showing him a captured raccoon wasn't part of the plan." Originally, when they let him out, Ophelia was going to tell him she already saw the captured raccoon wasn't Ruddiger and it was simply a false alarm. They didn't need to have an actual raccoon in a cage to show him so he'd believe them. So that wasn't going to sound right to her.

Cass just grinned, way ahead of him. "Ophelia knew I knew about the plan, so she'll just think I was going along with it, but in a different way."

"I'll explain to her that Cassie really showed me a raccoon in a cage and told me it was the one that was running around the castle. Then I confirmed it wasn't him and asked them to just release him back into the forest," Varian added.

That was smart. She and Varian were the only two people who would be able to tell with absolute certainty if a raccoon was or wasn't their little companion from home. So Ophelia would just think that Cassandra obtained an actual raccoon in a cage just to show Varian, keeping him away from the showcase, then he would of course see for himself that it wasn't Ruddiger after all.

Still, Rapunzel thought it would be better if he was just honest with her today. "But Varian-" she tried to tell him but Varian silenced her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Please Rapunzel," he pleaded to her. "I'll tell her when I'm ready."

As much as she wished he would reconsider, Rapunzel reluctantly swore her secrecy. As did Eugene.

As Cassandra was teasing the ex-thief about not being able to keep said secret, Lance showed up out of nowhere with a poker he swiped from a fireplace. They brought him up to speed on what they were doing and he promised to go along with their plan too.

Rapunzel didn't like it when she had to lie to trick Varian for the old plan, now she had to lie to Ophelia and hide this amazing secret from her for this new plan. But she knew she had to. It wasn't her secret to share so she had to respect that Varian would tell her when he was ready.

She just hoped it was soon.

They deserved to be happy. And not just happy. Happy together.

* * *

**End of Story #3. Next is another alternative series original episode/story.**

**So happy season 3 started up again! The latest episode 'Cassandra's Revenge' I watched this morning was awesome! Our poor sweet boy was kidnapped, knocked unconscious, and truth drugged. (Cass is becoming worse and worse to me.)**

**Thanks to everyone who supports these stories. Please continue to read the stories that follow. Keep an eye out for them. **

**Be prepared for even more Varian and Ophelia cuteness.**

**See u all next story ;)**


End file.
